Transit for low-income Minnesotans

Key points

Public transit expands prosperity and improves the quality of life for many Minnesotans. Transportation is a major barrier to employment for low-income people, and better transit can reduce that barrier.

Transit reduces the financial burden of transportation for low-income households. For all households, not just low-income ones, research shows that transportation’s share of the average budget drops from about 20 percent to about 10 percent for households with good access to transit.

Transit in much of Greater Minnesota – aside from the larger communities – depends upon options other than fixed-route bus service. Key transit service in sparsely populated areas – generally targeted to the elderly, individuals with disabilities, and low-income riders – includes dial-a-ride service, rides from volunteer drivers, and bus trips from town to town.

Fixed-route transit works best in densely settled urban areas with clusters of important destinations. The concentration of trip end points is particularly important, allowing transit to deliver riders to centralized stops where they can disembark and walk to their destinations.

Practically speaking, fixed-route transit service in the outer suburbs is largely limited to commuter runs from those suburbs to urban job centers and back, as it stand now. Outlying suburbs, and even some close-in ones, lack the necessary concentrations of trip endpoints to attract transit riders from the city or from other suburbs.

When it comes to urban transit service, buses are critical to persons with low incomes and limited transportation options. Consequently low-income transit riders benefit from improvements in frequent, reliable and easy-to-use bus service on regular routes.

Low-income workers often use transit for their commutes to work until they can afford to purchase or lease a car. Transit service has a significant and long-lasting impact on low-income workers by giving them initial access to employment and boosting their incomes.

Transit is one key way to better connect low-income Minnesotans to jobs and other important destinations, but not the only way or even, at present, the main way. For job trips, Census data show that about three-fourths of workers from poor households drive or rideshare to work both statewide and in the Twin Cities.

Smart approaches and policies

Rigorously pursue transit service and improvements aimed at transporting Minnesotans with low incomes and limited options.

Ramp up fixed-route transit service in the Twin Cities to better serve low-income riders.

Improve and expand transit service in Greater Minnesota.

Strongly emphasize travel for low-income Twin Cities residents in the planning and development of the metropolitan area’s rail transit system and bus rapid transit lines.

Charge affordable fares for transit.

Post route information at transit stops to make buses easier to use.

Continue to improve coordination between public transit and public agencies that provide services to Minnesotans in need of assistance.

Use dial-a-ride transit in places and circumstances where fixed-route transit proves impractical.